Bengals: One major difference between Chiefs and Bills stands in the way of the Super Bowl
The Cincinnati Bengals shocked the NFL world last weekend when they defeated the Buffalo Bills to advance to the AFC Championship Game. And I'm not even talking about the scoreboard. No, they shocked everyone around the league by looking like a top-tier offensive line even when missing three starters on the unit. The Bills simply […]
The Cincinnati Bengals shocked the NFL world last weekend when they defeated the Buffalo Bills to advance to the AFC Championship Game. And I'm not even talking about the scoreboard.
No, they shocked everyone around the league by looking like a top-tier offensive line even when missing three starters on the unit. The Bills simply couldn't even get close to Bengals QB Joe Burrow even when blitzing.
And yes, most of that was made possible thanks to Burrow's pocket presence and impressive time to throw. But the Bengals offensive line was on fire in the passing game and in the rushing game and made key blocks all throughout the game.
That's great news because left tackle Jonah Williams and right guard Alex Cappa have not practiced this week and Cincinnati is expected to play the same OL combination as it did in the Buffalo snow last Sunday.
That means Joey B will once more play behind three backup offensive linemen.
The Bengals, however, are expecting a whole different animal on Championship Sunday. As they fight to defend their AFC title, they'll be facing the Chiefs' pass rush and not the Bills'.
And boy, oh boy, are those two different kinds of units.
The Chiefs rank 5th in the NFL for the entire season in pressure rate. Led by Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and George Karlaftis (and complemented by DC Steve Spagnuolo's well-designed blitzes), the Chiefs can get to the quarterback. And they do it frequently.
Compare that to the Bills, who were unable to consistently rush passers once superstar Von Miller went down in Week 11.
While I don't mean this as an effort to take merit away from the Bengals OL (which did a fantastic job and was the story of the Divisional Round), the Chiefs could prove to be a reality check for the Bengals' banged-up unit.
The Bills don't rush the passer. The Chiefs do. Pair that with the fact that KC has a Top 5 offensive line in the NFL and it's clear the trenches favor the home team. Even as QB Patrick Mahomes nurses a high-ankle sprain.
The good news is that Burrow's skills at handling pressure with quick throws and light feet can be the difference-maker once more. While many portray this as an all-out war between Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, I am more excited about the chess battle between Burrow and Spagnuolo.
Will he try to get to Burrow with just four guys? Or will he gamble and blitz Joey Brr? The decision is made even tougher when considering the Bengals QB finished the season as the best against the blitz per PFF's offensive grade.
We'll find out very soon.
But Burrow and the Bengals OL will need to raise the bar because the Chiefs are nothing like the Bills when it comes to the trenches on either side of the football.
But even with all of that, the Bengals are 3-0 since the start of 2021 against the Chiefs. It's just damn hard to pick against Cincinnati when they know they can smoke cigars by the time the game is over on Sunday.
Featured image via Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
